Story Highlights
- Microsoft has battled the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) in court over its proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion in the last week. Multiple interesting bits of information have surfaced online ever since.
- In a legal document handed over to the United States District Court for the Northern District of California San Fransico division, it’s been claimed that Sony is plotting to release a slimmer version of the PlayStation 5 later this year.
- The hearings for the case are now over and it all boils down to a single judge to decide in favor of or against Microsoft for the industry giant’s buyout of Activision.
The Microsoft vs Federal Trade Commission case has brought a number of interesting facts and details to light, such as the Xbox owner’s long-term ambitions which revolve around generating over $500 billion in revenue by 2030. Apart from that, something more specific for us console enthusiasts has been spotted in a legal document handed over to the court by executives.
On the 45th page of the document, it’s been said, “PlayStation likewise sells a less expensive Digital Edition for $399.99, and is expected to release a PlayStation 5 Slim later this year at the same reduced price point.” This is a fairly surprising scenario, given how the statement anticipates this slimmer PlayStation 5 to arrive with pricing that’s on par with the digital variant of the console.
In the past, credible industry insider Tom Henderson has claimed that Sony is working on a particular PlayStation 5 model that will come with a detachable disc drive, insinuating that the latter could be bought separately. This would ultimately lower manufacturing costs for the company and negate the need to further produce two different consoles.
The detachable disk drive would solve the plight of both types of gamers—those who prefer keeping games physically and others who’d rather go all-digital. In addition to this, it’s also been rumored that Sony will no longer manufacture the existing PlayStation 5 consoles after 2023. By that time, the unit with the separate disk drive will have taken over, and the company would then look forward to the global launch of PlayStation 5 Pro.
From my understanding, yeah. The console comes on its own or as a bundle with the disc drive, and you can buy the disc drive separately further down the line/if it breaks
— Tom Henderson (@_Tom_Henderson_) December 12, 2022
As for the dimensions of the PlayStation 5 Slim or as others are calling it, the one with the detachable disk drive, the console will look nearly identical to the options currently available on the market. The same goes for the hardware and the technical specifications. According to Henderson, the aesthetics of the device won’t take a major hit, since the disk drive in question would be connected to it via the PS5’s USB-C port.
Do take all of this information with a grain of salt but given Henderson’s credibility with previous rumors and leaks, the situation is likely to unfold as it’s been reported. The PlayStation 5 has had rip-roaring success ever since it set foot into the world, even to the point that the vast majority of interested buyers were not able to get their hands on one at the time of its launch, leading to the console’s immense success.
As of April, the PlayStation 5 has sold over 38 million units according to Sony’s fiscal year 2022 consolidated results. With a slew of top-notch exclusives, such as the recently-released Final Fantasy 16 and the upcoming Marvel’s Spider-Man tieing themselves to the PS5 exclusively, one can anticipate that things are only going to get better from here on out for the console makers, minus the ongoing acquisition of Activision by Microsoft.
Check out our detailed video ahead spanning the efforts that Microsoft has had to make so far to close its $68.7 billion deal.
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